Help needed.
I know this is off topic a bit but someone might be able to give me some advice.
I live in a rather old house and decided to take up my kitchen floor (which I thought was concrete under a smooth screed) to see why it wasn't level. But I made a discovery!!!!!! what I thought was concrete is actually very very old n worn stone slabs of different sizes, most being about 3'x2'. The reason for the screed floor cracking is due to these slabs becoming uneven over the years. So I had a look underneath a couple of the stone slabs and found a layer of sand over earth/clay soil. This is an interior floor in my kitchen and as far as I can see has no rising damp protection. Although worn the slabs do look very nice, but I will need a damp proof membrane I think to improve the feel of the stone (very cold n clammy), so where abouts would it go (over earth under sand or over sand under stone) and should I use the same plastic as under concrete????
Any ideas greatly appreciated
IF you put a membrane under a stone floor, any dampness will simply move to the walls. Better to use a floor covering that can breathe - there are a number of natural floor coverings on the market such as jute and hemp which are warm to the feet.
So can't the stone be protected from rising damp then? I was thinking of leveling them off and leaving them as the floor, just that they feel very cold n almost damp to the touch, seems a shame to cover over them again.
In older properties, p[articularly in the north of England, it's not unusual to find old flagstone floors laid directly onto earth or cinders. At the time of original installation, it was a marked improvement on the beaten earth floor that were common before them, but by modern standards, it's viewed as somehat primitive.
To bring the floor up to a modern standard, a concrete slab would be cast and the flags could be laid on top of that, but you need a structural survey to determine just what type and form of concrete slab is required. As Danensis mentioned, there can be damp problems if a simple slab is just plopped in there, but if there is some form of effective damp proof course and the sub-base can be properly prepared, it's a reasonably common and straightforward job for many refurbishment projects.
